BUTLERVILLE — Two boys, ages 3 and 4, died in a house fire late Thursday night in Jennings County.

The fire was reported at 11:16 p.m. at a house at 1375 N. County Road 615E in Campbell Township, said Jennings County Sheriff’s Officer Bryan Katterhenry, sheriff’s department spokesman.

Jennings County Deputy Coroner Alden Rudicel identified the children as Carson Collett, 4, and his brother, Carter Collett, 3. Autopsies were being conducted Friday afternoon and their cause of death is not yet available, Rudicel said.

The two boys are the sons of Joshua and Ashley Collett, according to Dove-Sharp & Rudicel Funeral Home, which is handling arrangements.

When firefighters and county officers arrived, the home was fully engulfed, Katterhenry said. The homeowner, Kenneth L. Collett, 55, was able to escape and was taken to St. Vincent Jennings Hospital before being transferred to Eskenazi Hospital, Indianapolis, for treatment of burns and smoke inhalation.

Because of thick smoke and flames, Collett was unable to locate the two children inside the home and they were unable to get out of the home, Katterhenry said. Their bodies were found inside the house after the fire was extinguished by firefighters from Campbell Township, Vernon Township, North Vernon and a rescue squad.

The Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office is conducting the investigation, police said.

For more on this story, see Saturday’s Republic.